Health and hygiene knowledge, attitudes and behaviour

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Education
• Social Sciences

Background:

• Developing effective health and hygiene interventions requires validated measurement tools.
• Understanding knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors is crucial for targeted health promotion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate scales measuring health and hygiene knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
• To assess the relationship between these scales and demographic/environmental factors.

Main Methods:

• Administered a questionnaire to 240 women across different settlement types (squatter camp, informal, formal township).
• Utilized reliability analysis (Cronbach's alpha) and factor analysis for scale validation.
• Employed stepwise regression to identify predictors of knowledge and behavior.

Main Results:

• Developed scales demonstrated good reliability (knowledge: 0.73, attitude/behavior: 0.87).
• Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors were significantly interrelated (P<0.001).
• Age influenced knowledge and behavior; waste management (dustbin ownership) significantly impacted all three domains.

Conclusions:

• The developed scales are reliable and valid for assessing health and hygiene.
• Findings provide baseline data for designing and evaluating health promotion programs.
• Waste management infrastructure is a critical public health intervention for improving hygiene.